College of Engineering Faculty Careers - FAQ

FAQs about the hiring process

1. Workday related FAQs can be found here.
   Ohio State uses Workday, an online HR applicant tracking system. If you have questions about Workday, please use the link above to connect with HR.
    
2. How long does the hiring process usually take?
   Each department has different hiring needs so the length of the hiring process will vary depending on the position. Generally, faculty positions are advertised in August, with the interview process starting in late fall and concluding by April 30.
    
3. What happens after I submit my application materials?
   Application materials are reviewed by the search committee. If you are selected for an interview, you will be contacted by phone or email.
    
4. What does the university offer for dual career couples?
   If the partner is an academic or a fit in the medical campus, the Provost’s office offers a program to pay one third of the first three years of a partner’s costs to encourage other departments to hire them on as faculty. Faculty Affairs in collaboration with OAA would contact potential tenure initiating units to discuss the partner’s fit with their program, potentially leading to an interview process and hire (using a targeted hire).
   
   If the partner works outside the academy or is unable to obtain an academic position, Faculty Affairs in collaboration with OAA will work with the person to network and search for appropriate positions. Learn more about dual career couples in the College of Engineering through Duets in Engineering.
    
5. What does the college do to support faculty mentoring?
   Ohio State's College of Engineering's mentoring program provides new faculty with outstanding foundations for future success. The focus is on the whole career – research, teaching and service – before and beyond tenure, as well as guidance on how to be engaged members of the community at the department, college and university levels. Group mentoring creates space for consensus, brainstorming and strategy development.
   
   This program is based on research that shows that team mentoring is more effective than an individual mentor approach. The mentoring program supports junior faculty in the development of:
    - An understanding of the tenure process and expectations for promotion
    - A supportive mentoring team who provides guidance and feedback on a regular basis
    - An individualized research plan
    - An individualized teaching plan
    - An individualized service plan
    - An individualized visibility plan
    - Professional skills
   
   How it works:
   Mentoring committee selection and meetings are managed centrally. New faculty will meet individually with Dr. Gonul Kaletunc to brainstorm the formation of a mentoring committee. Each mentoring committee will have four senior members (three senior faculty and department chair):
    - A senior faculty member in the department with research interests aligned with the new faculty member
    - A senior faculty member outside the department in a related field
    - A senior faculty member outside the college or university
    - Department chair
   
   New faculty will select the committee members and discuss with Dr. Kaletunc. The committee will meet once a semester for 1.5 hours (1 hour minimum); meetings will continue until tenure.
   
   Learn more at: https://engineering.osu.edu/faculty-research/faculty-development/mentoring-program
    
6. What is the process for promotion and tenure?
   Faculty have mandatory reviews at the fourth and sixth years, with extensions for becoming a parent, illness, or COVID-19. Up to three years are possible. Every year faculty get an annual review letter that should talk about their progress and on which they can comment. All of that goes forward with a dossier for review. For the fourth year review, there are no external letters.
   
   Eligible faculty in the unit vote, then the chair writes an evaluatory letter. Then the candidate can comment on the unit and chair letters. The entire package goes to the college. For the sixth year review, the college's Promotion and Tenure Committee evaluates the process and advises the dean. Then the dean writes a letter and the candidate can comment on the college level review. Then the whole package goes to the Provost and then to the Board of Trustees.
    
7. How can I learn about my prospective unit’s criteria for promotion and tenure?
   https://oaa.osu.edu/appointments-reappointments-promotion-and-tenure
      >  Select “College of Engineering”   >   Select unit
    

8. What does the university/college do in the area of...
    - Undergraduate Research – Faculty are encouraged to engage undergraduates in their research activities. Undergraduate students can participate for pay or for credit. We have a software tool where faculty can upload their opportunity (similar to a job board) and students can apply. If they wish, students can work towards doing a thesis and graduate with Research Distinction. There is a proposal process for distinction and the college awards >$200K in scholarships each year for students to do research towards distinction.
    - Additional topics coming soon...
    

9. What are some special/unique things about the college?
    - Integrated with the medical center research: https://engineering.osu.edu/engineering-healthcare-solutions
    - The Ohio State University Airport https://osuairport.org/
    - Nuclear Reactor Laboratory (NRL) https://reactor.osu.edu/
    - CEMAS: Most powerful electron microscope in the world https://cemas.osu.edu/
    - Transportation Research Center (TRC) https://car.osu.edu/facilities/transportation-research-center-inc
    - Knowlton School of Architecture (KSA) https://knowlton.osu.edu/[HM1] 
10. What does the College of Engineering do to enhance diversity, equity and Inclusion?
    The College of Engineering Racial Equity and Inclusion Action Plan describes the current focus areas and the actions taken to date. 
     
11. Are there affinity groups which faculty from diverse backgrounds can join?
    At Ohio State there are groups at the university and college levels that new faculty can join:
     - Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Employee Resource Group - APIDA@osumc.edu
     - LGBTQ+ at Ohio State: www.go.osu.edu/lgtbqerg
     - Black Women Faculty and Professional Staff Contact: Griffith.658@osu.edu
     - College of Engineering and Knowlton School Black, Indigenous and Latinx Faculty and Staff Network - Andre Palmer.351@osu.edu and Lisa Barclay.4@osu.edu
     - OSU Women of Color Network:  woc@osumc.edu
     - Olé Organization of Latinx/Hispanic Employees: www.go.osu.edu/ole
     - Salaam Employee Resource Group  https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/salaam
     
12. What has the university and the college done to enhance the climate for women on campus?
    The university’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) has a unit called The Women’s Place. The Women’s Place is a focal point for the advancement of women at Ohio State. It sponsors training, mentoring programs, visiting lecturers, among other things. It also publishes an annual report on the status of women at Ohio State. In about 2013, The Women’s Place began addressing campus climate when it sent three influential deans (including Dean Emeritus David B. Williams) to a training called The White Man’s Caucus run by an organization called White Men as Full Diversity Partners (they work with large corporations as well as universities). This training educates white men about white male privilege. These deans then sent male leaders in their colleges and they sent theirs, etc.
    
    In about 2016, Hazel Morrow-Jones (professor emerita of City and Regional Planning and former director of the Women’s Place) received an NSF grant with four other universities to create campus capacity using train-the-trainer programs within the campuses, thus creating sustainability for this on-going effort.
    
    More recently, the campus has been engaging in ally training aimed at people of color, as well as active bystander training for those who would like to know how to intervene in situations of implicit bias.